Green-car subsidy to get fresh injection

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The government is set to nearly double the 250 million kronor ($41.9 million) already set aside to support the purchase of environmentally friendly cars.

In a supplemental budget to be presented in April, the government plans to ask for an additional 240 million kronor to subsidize the purchase of eco-cars, write Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren and Agriculture Minister Eskil Erlandsson in a debate article in the Göteborgs-Posten newspaper.

The original subsidy started in April of 2007 and was set to run through the end of 2009. Individuals purchasing a car during that period that runs on ethanol or biogas, for example, or any other vehicle deemed eco-friendly, receive a 10,000 kronor subsidy on their purchase.

The popularity of the programme threatened to overrun the original allotment of funds, with some estimating that costs could eventually run over one billion kronor.

During the first nine months of the program 45,020 such environmentally cars were sold, with 44 percent being purchased by individuals.